Conyers Subpoenas Rove — Again

With a change in control in the White House, House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) has renewed a subpoena for the testimony of Karl Rove, hoping that President Barack Obama will waive the privileges for Rove that President George W. Bush successfully asserted. Over the past two years, Conyers has waged an ongoing battle with Rove, trying to force the former White House deputy chief of staff to testify about the politicization of the Justice Department. Rove argued that it was not up to him whether to testify, but up to the White House, which had asserted executive privilege over the testimony of former senior staffers. The dispute remains the subject of litigation over the limits of executive privilege. Nevertheless, Conyers on Monday reissued the subpoena for Roves testimony, ordering him to appear at a deposition on Feb. 2. In a press release, Conyers noted that President Obama has previously dismissed the [Bush administrations privilege claims] as completely misguided. Roves attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.